Before there was Game of Thrones, before there was even Star Wars, there was Dune.Frank Herbert’s classic novels have been beloved since 1965 and have been very influential and are considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time. Many argue that there wouldn’t even be Star Wars or The Matrix without the Dune novels’ influence and themes. Basically, it was Game of Thrones before there was even a Game of Thrones, perfectly blending religion, politics, and fantasy in a compelling series. Dune is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel that many consider the Lord of the Rings for science fiction.

For years, many have tried to adapt the novels for film and television and it was considered “unfilmable.” In 1984, David Lynch adapted the novel as a feature film and although panned when it first hit theaters, has achieved cult status. In 2000, Syfy (Sci-Fi Channel) adapted the original Dune as a miniseries and in 2003 adapted Children of Dune as another miniseries combining Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. In a world of endless remakes, many have tried to revive the Dune Saga and a feature film, but it has been in “development hell” for quite some time, until now.

Legendary Entertainment reached an agreement with the estate of Frank Herbert and secured the rights to Dune that would include film and television distribution. This agreement will allow Legendary to be able to develop film and television projects surrounding characters from the Dune Saga. Recently, Denis Villeneuve, the director of Arrival and the upcoming Blade Runner sequel expressed interest in directing a possible remake of Dune. It looks like now that possibility is within reach. Now the big question is, will they make it a TV series and go the Game of Thrones route, as that scenario is completely plausible. Or will they try to adapt Dune as a feature length film? Or ever better, will they try to pull a Dark Tower and do both film and TV adaptions simultaneously? Time will tell, but this is great news for fans of the franchise as now film and television have the technology to give a successful adaptation of the classic novels.